MFA Bootcamp

Sharon Louden is my mentor this semester. I am so fortunate to have her! She's so smart and driven. She's tough but completely honest and direct. It's like MFA bootcamp and is exactly what I need right now. We began with a strong push to find galleries. I found myself confused as to the direction my work was headed as I looked through the Art in America Gallery guide with highlighter in hand.  We put the career building on hold and began to focus on the work. My work changed completely in Ireland. When I came back I continued with my oil spill work and found myself becoming interested in plankton and life underwater. I bought a bunch of wood in preparation to make 8 modular pieces similar to the Boom.

Sharon met me at Moore and looked at "From coal come diamonds".  Another artist who looked at it said they felt like it was made by a female Anselm Kiefer. I took that as a compliment. Sharon asked me so many questions that I really didn't know how to answer. Is it an image or an object? If it's an image it fails. Too dark, not enough contrast between marks. As a sculptural object there also needs to be more variance in the size of the holes. It has to live in a world independent of me. My hope is that it will convey how I was feeling in Ireland. Sharon asked me to do 50 drawings based on this piece-- due in two weeks! 

I finished setting up the studio and got busy. I found myself experimenting with process and really enjoying that aspect. I limited myself to black and white. I used rocks, rain, ink, oil, turps. The pieces I liked best were prints of each other. I enjoyed the marks left behind by the process.

I brought them in and Sharon said they were empty. My emotion wasn't in them. (It wasn't-- I am no longer as unhappy and angry as I was in Ireland). We talked about body and process and getting more of me in the work. Sharon suggested I look at the work of these artists:

• Ana Mendieta- body/ earth art, uses her silhouette. I felt a connection with Ana, perhaps it's because I am so close to her age at her death. 
• Lynda Benglis- super feminist. Works with drips- metal, poured paint. I liked the idea of pouring the paint on the floor.
• Eva Hesse- I love her. I want to read more about her life. I enjoyed her drawings. Her sculptures are feminine yet so powerful.
• Bruce Nauman- neon figures
• Robert Morris- Circles, land art. I took a photo of his circle in the Burren.
• Richard Serra- We've looked at his work so much in the MFA program. I would like to experience it in person to feel the power behind it. 
• Keith Sonnier- Mostly neon, but he works in a vast array of media- drawing, sculpture, video, animation.
• Laura Mylott Manning- She work with clothes and does installations. I could see her visual vocabulary develop in the shadow series. I liked the woman covered in lights performance.
• Marina Abramovic- Performance art- The artist is present... sit and stare at each each other in the museum. The artist is the art. 

Sharon said I need to build a visual vocabulary and that I'm really far behind. I am determined to figure out my path! I took a studio day and began with an homage to Ana Mendieta.